Venom
by berrywarbler
Summary: When Rachel and Blaine get caught, Blaine leaves behind a mess for Rachel to clean up. How is she supposed to ignore all that when he comes back for her? au; blainchelcest because I'm weirdly addicted
1. Chapter 1

She could hear the screaming, the fighting, the harsh words and angry tones. She heard words like 'pervert' and 'sicko', 'wrong' and 'immoral'. She heard him shout back, yelling about 'love', and 'it doesn't matter!', all the things they had whispered to each other to make it all seem okay.

Then she heard silence, silence too quiet to be safe or comforting. The worst wasn't over, of that she was sure. If anything, she was sure it had just gotten worse, but still she sat in their shared bathroom where she had fled after Blaine said he would take it upon himself to talk to them, he would do his duty as older brother and face the music. "Stay put," he had told her firmly, "no matter what happens, or what you hear, or what gets said. Don't move." She had merely nodded before he disappeared, a look on his face she never wanted to see again.

Footsteps running up the stairs brought her back to the present, and she could hear their father shouting again, yelling at how Blaine had to get out, how it could never happen again, _I don't have a son!_ echoing around the entire house. Rachel let out a few tears, wanting nothing more than to comfort Blaine, but as her fathers voice neared closer, she stayed where she was, keeping her promise to Blaine.

"I want you out of this house!" he yelled, and she could hear Blaine's scoff, hear as he stormed around his room.

"Like I wanted to stay around you _anyways_," Blaine retorted, his closet opening and closing nearby.

"You're never allowed to see her again," their father screamed, his voice angry and terse in a way Rachel had never heard before, in a terrifying way that made her want to cling onto Blaine tighter, _don't take him away from me _flashing through her mind.

"I think she can decide that for herself," Blaine shot back, and she could picture all too well what happened when she heard a loud crash, Blaine's resounding noise of shock and pain painting a visual she never wanted to envision.

The door slammed a moment later, and she could hear Blaine muttering under his breath, trying to clear her mind before she walked in on him. When she finally stood, hesitantly opening the door that separated their bathroom to his room, he didn't look at her, too busy shoving clothes and items in a suitcase he had from their last family vacation.

"Blaine?" she asked, her voice quiet as she watched him move across the room, her arms wrapping around herself with the sudden realization of what was going on.

"Not now Rachel," he snapped, facing her momentarily, enough to see his eye blackened, a bruise already forming there as her mouth fell open.

"Blaine-" she cried out, moving towards him, but he just dodged her as he passed her to go into the bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush and such before putting it in the bag. "Blaine, what are you doing?"

"I have to go Rachel, I can't-I can't stay here anymore."

"You can't leave," she whimpered, her hands reaching out to grab his arms and pull him towards her. He was a lot stronger than she, but he still let himself be lured towards her, his forehead resting against hers while she whimpered, trying to climb into his skin as she pulled him close. "You can't just leave me."

"I have to," he said quietly. "I-you heard dad, I know you did. I can't be here, not anymore."

"We'll explain it better, explain that we love each other, and we don't care about stigma and-"

"Rachel," he interrupted, shaking his head as he pulled away from her a bit. "Rachel they'll never understand."

Just because she understood what he was saying, didn't mean she liked it any, but as their parents started shouting at each other downstairs she had to accept it as the truth. He had to leave, had to abandon her in the worst time.

They were quiet for a few moments, his fingers stroking lightly at the skin on her back just underneath her shirt, her hands woven tightly around his neck as they soaked each other in. "I don't want you to go," she whined after a bit, moving her hands to his chest and clenching her fists tightly in his shirt as if it would keep him closer to her, as if it would stop him from disappearing.

"I have to," he reminded her, his eyes flickering towards her bedroom door momentarily where they could still hear their parents shouting, screaming at each other as if it was their fault their children were sick, not ready to accept what they had walked in on, what they had witnessed. "They'll…Rachel they'll separate us anyways, and at least this way, I can come back. In a few years, once the memory has been erased…" he winced, both knowing the memory would never be erased, and now the tears started falling from her eyes again as she relished these last few moments she knew she'd be guaranteed. His scent, his arms holding her tight against him, his voice. "I'll figure something out, and in three years' time when you're 18-we'll meet in New York. That was always your dream right?"

"I can't not see you for 3 years Blaine!" she cried out, louder than intended as he shushed her quickly, their parents voices quieting down from the kitchen below. "I can't go through that, not without you here."

"It's the only way," he assured her, squeezing her hand in his own. "And you're going, Rachel, listen to me carefully. You have to lie about this."

"I can't really-Blaine they walked in on us, it's not like I can be like '_I was just helping him with his homework_' or something-"

"About the fact that it was consensual," he explained, and her face felt stricken with the realization of what he was asking her, the implications of what he was saying.

"No," she shook her head, adamant. "No, Blaine, I won't lie about that! I won't make them think that you're-"

"It's the only way Rachel," he repeated, his voice quieter as he tried to level out from her near hysterics. "Rachel, you have to tell them it was rape, or they're going to judge you and you can't leave, not yet-you have an entire future ahead of you, you're supposed to make it and I'll be okay, I promise-I'll hide at Mike's for a couple days before I can go, just please do this one last thing for me." She was too emotional to even respond at that point, the tears clouding her sight and making it hard to breathe, let alone talk. "I love you," he promised, leaning in to kiss her lips softly, gently, the goodbye so much stronger than it would have been with words as he grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder, and headed out the door, leaving her alone to pick up the pieces.

* * *

><p>"Happy birthday beautiful," Finn said as he came up to her locker, swooping down low for a quick kiss. Rachel beamed up at him, her hand opening to accept her present as he placed it in her hands. "We're still on for Breadstix tonight, right?"<p>

"Of course," she said as she opened up the box, smiling at the earrings located inside. "They're perfect, thank you," she murmured, standing on her toes to kiss him gently.

"It's not every day your girlfriend turns 18," he grinned, and Rachel could only force her grin in response, the reminder of her age, that Blaine hadn't contacted her in nearly three years, it was almost enough to push her over the edge.

But she wasn't that fifteen year old girl anymore. She was stronger than the one who spent weeks crying in his bed while their parents erased any evidence of his existence, planned their move, forced Rachel into therapy when they found her crying on his bedroom floor that night he left, the word 'rape' never leaving her mouth, their parents just assuming.

And over time, Rachel got used to life in Ohio, used to referring to their parents as _her _parents, used to being the only child. She missed Blaine every day, the hole he left behind in her heart present but closing the more she threw herself into projects and friends.

But today it was loose, frayed, making her nervous. He had promised her, all that time ago, that he'd come back for her when they were 18. She didn't know if that meant on her birthday, or when she was to graduate, or how he could even find her-their parents had done a good job at keeping their secret hidden, resorting as far as changing their name from 'Anderson' to 'Berry', but she knew that now was the time a whole new wave of remorse and sadness would wave over her.

Every day that Blaine didn't appear, her heart was sure to break a little bit more.

* * *

><p>She didn't necessarily need to get ready for Breadstix-it was where they spent most Friday nights, after all-but she felt that since tonight was her birthday she might as well. She had spent the better part of her afternoon shopping with Kurt before waving her parents off on their weekend getaway trip, their accommodation to Rachel's social life verging on alarming had it not been for the circumstances.<p>

She was sure, had they not walked in on her and Blaine mid-coitus, they would not be as willing to leave their child home alone for the weekend of her eighteenth birthday.

When the doorbell rang, twenty minutes earlier than Finn had announced he was coming over, Rachel stood frozen at her bathroom mirror, glancing at the clock on her nightstand just to be sure. Finn was _never _early, if anything he ran late. And with Kurt off on a date with Sam-she couldn't let herself hope, but the seed had been implanted, and when she opened the door only to be faced with Quinn or Santana, she was sure it was only going to make things worse.

Still, she couldn't help but practically run to the door, flinging it open without bothering with the peep hole to make sure it wasn't a serial killer or a murderer, her mouth falling open faster than the door did at the sight of him.

"Blaine," was all she could whisper before his arms were around her waist, his mouth on hers. She didn't fight him off, would never dream of it-but it was only when he had pulled back enough to whisper 'happy birthday' against her mouth that her senses came back and her tone became sharper. "Blaine, what are you doing here?"

"I came back for you," he answered sheepishly, and she tried to take a moment to take him in-how he had grown, changed in the three years he had left her alone to clean up their mess. _Alone_, she remembered, how alone she had felt all this time, and all of a sudden she was _pissed_.

"No!" she screamed, and now she did push him away, so quickly her emotions could change when he was around, and he looked startled but backed away, a hand up in defense as she struck out at him. "No! You can't just-I had to restart my life Blaine Anderson! I had to become an entirely different person!"

"Rach, I know-"

"No, _you don't know_," she hissed, lashing out at him. "You don't know. We moved, and we erased you from our lives because you abandoned me, and we had to change our name, Blaine I'm not even Rachel Anderson anymore-I haven't been for two and a half fucking years!"

"Rachel," he tried again, but now she was storming past him, not even caring that the front door was wide open, that Finn was due any moment to pick her up as she let out a loud scream, so frustrated and upset and _hurt_.

She was hurt, more than anything.

He followed her, moving quickly as he tried to apologize, "Please, just talk to me," and "Rachel, I want to fix this," coming out of his mouth, but she shook her head, nearly slamming her bedroom door in his face only to have him stick his foot in the jam and push it open.

"Rachel Barbra Anderson, you talk to me right now!" he yelled, and she whirled around at him, so un-used to hearing her original name nowadays.

"I'm not Rachel Anderson anymore!" she screamed at him. "I'm Rachel Barbra Berry, _Rachel Berry_. Don't you see what happened when you left? I had to go through everything, _everything _on my own. I had to lie, I had to go through therapy until I was 'better', until I stopped sobbing every night with one of your sweatshirts in my hands. I had to rebuild my life in a whole new town, a whole new state! I have friends Blaine, I have a _boyfriend _who is supposed to come take me out for a birthday dinner!"

"Cancel," Blaine said nonchalantly, though she saw his flinch at the word 'boyfriend'. It had hurt him just a little bit, just as she had intended it to.

"You think you can just demand my attention because you deem it an acceptable time for us to be around each other again?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "That's not how it works."

"You tell me how it works then Rachel, because all I know is that I've spent the past three years wishing I could be here to make everything better for you while I changed my _own _life to keep you safer! I was the one who had to find a place to go, a home to live in and a way to survive completely on my own the past three years! And I was the one who managed to track you down, managed to find you-despite your changed last name-to surprise you on your 18th birthday. Who managed to get _our _parents to disappear for the weekend so he could actually see you," he raged, fists clenching. They had never yelled like this in the past, had never gotten so mad that they screamed in each other's faces. It was just more proof that so much had changed. "You tell me what to do."

"I don't know," she finally whispered, curling up into a ball on the floor and fighting off tears as Blaine let out a soft sigh, coming over and wrapping himself around her, caressing her hair out of her face. "I just don't know."

She remembered too late that Finn was on his way to take her out to dinner, and by the time she heard him climbing the stairs with a loud "Rachel?" she could barely disentangle herself from Blaine quickly enough. "What's going on?" Finn asked warily when he appeared in her doorway, Rachel now pulling Blaine off her floor and trying to compose herself.

"Um," Rachel began, not really sure how to introduce Blaine-she never mentioned his existence, never mentioned she had a brother in her past life.

"I'm Blaine," he finally said, offering a hand to a confused looking Finn after a moment. "I'm an old friend from Rachel's old school."

"Rachel never talks about her old school," Finn said, his eyes focused on where Rachel stood, helpless to the situation. She hated not being in control, hated not knowing what to do, hadn't felt like this in so long and now everything was crashing down around her once more. "I didn't know she kept in touch with anyone from there."

"She didn't," Blaine said, his gaze turning towards her now, "but I remembered that it was her birthday and wanted to surprise her."

"Is that true?" Finn asked, his tone a little more accusing than Rachel would have liked, but she merely nodded in response. "Oh, well…" Finn trailed off, looking hopelessly awkward.

"I know you two were supposed to have a date tonight, but do you mind if I steal her for the evening? I'm not sure-I'm only here for a day or two," Blaine said, and Rachel steeled herself against the wave of sadness that statement held for her.

"I mean, I'm her-" Finn tried, but Rachel shook her head.

"I'm sorry Finn, but I just haven't-Blaine and I have a lot to catch up on. You understand, don't you?" she asked, hoping beyond hope that Finn would understand, would go peacefully and she could have the time with Blaine that she had been longing for for so long. Finn looked awkwardly between the two once more before letting out a low sigh, nodding in agreement.

"Happy birthday anyways," Finn said, grabbing Rachel by the hand and kissing her far more passionately than he normally would have, Rachel squirming out of reach and just barely catching the annoyed look on Blaine's face before it flashed back to a calculated smile.

"I'll talk to you later," she said quietly, waving goodbye to him in a way that symbolized that he was done, gone, pushed to the side now. Whether Finn understood the full implications or not, she didn't know, but he left regardless, leaving Rachel and Blaine alone for the first time since she was 15.

They didn't talk for awhile, sitting silently and taking the other in. She had missed his curly hair, his eyes that held her attention for longer than she should ever admit until she'd allow her own to trail down to his lips, taking in the stubble covering his face-he clearly hadn't shaved, and it wasn't a look she thought she'd find attractive, but did.

Then again, Blaine was an enigma of things she shouldn't find attractive anyways.

"I missed you," he finally said, and she felt a smile tug on her lips regardless of the leftover resentment and pain.

"I missed you too," she admitted with a shrug, looking down at her hands to keep her eyes on anything that wasn't him. "I thought about you all the time."

"I thought about you every day," he told her, his voice earnest as his hand lunged out to touch her knee, the spark she always felt with him returning, the urge to jump on top of him and kiss him nearly causing her to act out. "Shit, Rachel, you don't even know how bad I felt for leaving you there, with them, having to deal with-"

"But you did," she said, her tone harsh at the reminder that she had been left all alone.

"I had to, and we both know it," he said quietly, brushing a piece of hair from her face as she leaned unconsciously into his touch. "I didn't want to-at least, not without you. But until I could be sure that I could take care of myself, I needed you safe. I needed to know that when I could come back to get you, you'd be okay."

"And now you're-what? Here to come get me? Don't you think maybe I gave up hope of ever hearing from you when years went by and I didn't get a text? A phone call? An _email_?"

"What was I supposed to say Rachel? I was trying to have you go through the mourning process so our parents would think you'd moved on. And if you actually moved on-" his face hardened, a lingering pain behind his eyes as he forced out the rest of the sentence, "it'd probably have been for the best. But if there's any chance, I'm not letting it pass this time Rachel. I'm not letting you go."

"What about mom and dad?" she asked quietly, and he looked just as scared and helpless as she felt for a moment, but he had learned early on in life to pave over it, to save face in front of her.

"We'll figure it out. It's up to you Rachel, if you still want me-I'm yours."


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel didn't answer Blaine right away. The _of course I want you_ was right there, at the tip of her tongue, begging to be let out. But then the hurt she felt from being abandoned flashed through her mind, and she became hesitant-something she never felt around him before.

"I just need some time," she eventually said, and Blaine merely nodded in response. "I am glad to see you," she told him quietly, and a small smile formed on his face, his hand reaching out to cup her own.

"I'm glad to see you too," he told her.

It took them a few moments to realize they had an entire weekend, at least, before their parents would arrive back, before Finn would demand answers, and Rachel quickly offered to show him around her town-her new town. Their first stop was the school where Rachel had been shipped to only a couple months after Blaine first disappeared, and while she felt slightly guilty about explaining everything that happened, she figured he needed to know. If she was going to let him in again, he needed to know everything.

"So you single-handedly brought a failing glee club to it's feet and managed to win a couple competitions?" Blaine asked, and while his voice wasn't _impressed_, it was proud. "Only you could do that."

"We still haven't won Nationals yet, we're hoping to this year, though I've been distracted with the school musical," she admitted, leading him towards the empty auditorium.

"What was the musical?" he asked, and when she answered with a small 'West Side Story', she saw his face flinch slightly. "I missed you as Maria?" She nodded in response, squeezing his hand in comfort-the longer they spent together, the more reasons she remembered why she had fallen in love with him in the first place, despite all the trouble it cost her.

"You'll see me as Maria one day," she promised. "On a real stage."

"Still," he said quietly, his eyes focused on the stage in front of them, surely picturing her singing _Tonight _with a boy he couldn't even picture-she knew his first thought wouldn't be Noah, a boy he'd never have even heard of. "It was your first performance as Maria."

"You did what you had to do Blaine," she whispered, her voice quiet as she came to the acceptance that had taken her years to even admit aloud, a weight being lifted off her shoulders as she let it sink in. She didn't like what had been done, would have done anything to have him in her life when he had disappeared, but she knew their parents wouldn't have allowed it. They still didn't speak of Blaine, she didn't even hear them muttering about him under their breath anymore. He turned to her, a smile playing on his lips, and she leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I told you, I just needed some time to come to terms with things," she whispered, and he nodded as his hand left hers and settled on her back, leading her out of the room.

"Where to next?" he asked, walking them out to her car.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, and he grinned.

"Starving."

* * *

><p>Breadstix was just as jammed as she had expected it to be, and while she felt slightly nervous for being somewhere so public-especially on her birthday, when everyone would have expected her with Finn and not some strange boy they've never seen before-it was one of the few places in Lima to eat.<p>

They got themselves a booth, and she could feel the stares from Kurt and Sam across the room, Brittany and Santana a couple tables over. Blaine flipped through his menu, Rachel scanning the room to see how many other familiar faces were there. Finn knew Blaine was with her, she wasn't too worried about anyone telling him something about that-but when Blaine put his menu down, his hand reaching across the table to hold hers, she could feel a blush crawling over her skin.

"We probably shouldn't do that," she said quietly, and when he raised an eyebrow, she nodded her head towards the other patrons in the restaurant, most of whom were under the age of 18.

"Oh," he said, just as quietly, but he retracted his hand. "I forgot, the, uh, boyfriend."

"Yeah," she said, glad for the waitresses timely arrival as they placed their orders.

"So, tell me about him," Blaine said after the girl had left, and Rachel just kind of blankly stared. "The boyfriend."

"Blaine-" she said, her voice a warning, because she didn't want to talk about Finn any more than she was sure he wanted to _hear _about Finn.

"No, I mean, I have to see who my competition is," he said, his face breaking into an easy grin as he relaxed back in his booth. "Come on, tell me. How'd you meet, how talented is he, what kind of entertainment does he want to go into."

She let out a small laugh, relaxing a bit herself as he seemed less tense. "He's good-not a good dancer, mind you, I think he has too much limbs to really know how to move them properly-but he's a good singer. I met him when I joined New Directions, he was kind of floundering as captain until I came along and stole the title from him. But he doesn't actually want to go into the talent sector."

"He doesn't?" Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow as he took a breadstick from the basket in-between them.

"No. He prefers football, and he got a football scholarship to Ohio State. As soon as August hits, he'll be off there and I'll be off to New York," she told Blaine, her voice a little quieter than normal. The end of her and Finn was something they both knew was coming, and while she had grown to love Finn, she had a feeling if Blaine was around their demise wouldn't be nearly as heartbreaking as she had thought it would be merely 12 hours ago.

"A football player, huh?" Blaine asked, fiddling with his knife. "Pretty hard to compete with that."

She scoffed, taking his hand despite her earlier warnings. "We both know there's no real competition," she promised, focusing her eyes on his, hoping to ignore the warning signals going off in her head that this would backfire, drowning them out completely as he smiled at her.

"I could play football," he finally said after a moment, and she fought off a giggle from the mental image alone. "I could!" he argued, and as their food arrived, she merely nodded.

"Of course you could," she assured him.

* * *

><p>They drove around the town some more after dinner, Blaine's fingers laced with Rachel's as she pointed out different sites-her dance studio, the park she'd go to sometimes with Finn, the Lima Bean. It wasn't until they pulled up in front of Rachel's house-the house her parents had bought specifically because there was only 2 bedrooms, no room for Blaine to ever come back to their lives-that she realized she hadn't even heard anything about his life, about where he had gone, how he was surviving, where he was staying.<p>

"Do you want to-" she gulped, suddenly nervous as she fumbled her keys in the doorway, Blaine right behind her. "I mean, I don't know where you're staying, but if you want to stay the night with me-"

"I'd love that," he said quietly, his hand gripping her hip as they walked inside, silent as she dropped her bag on the floor, turning and capturing his mouth in a kiss this time, initiating the contact she had so been longing for all night. "Finn," he finally said when they parted, and she just shook her head, not wanting to think about Finn, not wanting to think about anything besides her and Blaine, how her Blaine was _there_, finally, after so long of wishing and hoping.

"I don't care," she told him, grabbing his hand and leading him up the stairs. "I want _you_."

Blaine didn't put up a fight.

* * *

><p>When Rachel woke up the next morning, she was sure the whole thing had been a dream-a very vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless. When she reached around on her bed for Blaine, hoping against hope that he'd be there, she couldn't help the disappointment that she felt at feeling an empty bed.<p>

She didn't dare open her eyes, knowing as soon as she saw the sight of her empty bed, she'd start crying. She felt like her lapse in judgment had just managed to bring down the wall she had worked so hard to build back up, crumbling completely just because he had promised to come back.

"Morning sunshine," a voice called out, and she shot up in bed, her eyes popping open as a smile grew on her face, her hands reaching out for him.

"You're actually here," she breathed as he let her pull him towards her, practically collapsing on top of her as she pulled him closer and closer.

He let out a small laugh, kissing her temple as he whispered an "Of course I'm here. Where would I have gone?"

"I thought it was all a dream," she answered honestly, burrowing her face in his chest as his arms held her tightly against him.

"If it was, it's one we're both having," he chuckled, and she grinned, placing a chaste kiss on his skin. She pulled the blankets back around them, trying to be as comfortable as possible, knowing shortly this would have to end, knowing they only had another day together before he'd disappear again, their parents coming back home and Finn demanding her attention.

"Let's just make the most of these next couple days," she whispered, and he nodded, his lips trailing across her hairline, not bothering to respond with words-they only had so much time, and even she felt talking was unnecessary.

* * *

><p>"When am I going to see you again?" she asked the next afternoon, wearing Blaine's sweatshirt he had brought explicitly for her.<p>

"Sooner than you'd think," he promised, leaning over to place one last kiss on her lips, his hands holding her by her waist closer to him. "We're not doing this three year thing again," he told her. "I don't think either of us can take it."

She frowned as she nodded in agreement, chewing on her lip as she gazed up at him. "I'll miss you," she whispered, and he just smiled in response.

"Soon," he told her, leaning over to kiss her forehead as a car beeped in the driveway, both of them looking towards the noise.

She watched him get into the car, vaguely recognizing his old best friend Mike as the driver, watched as they both waved and turned out of the driveway, driving further and further away from her, her heart breaking all over again as she realized she was, once more, left without her Blaine.


	3. Chapter 3

Rachel had approximately an hour before her parents pulled into the driveway, trying to pull herself together and pretend her heart hadn't just been broken into a thousand tiny pieces for the second time in her life.

Blaine may have said 'Soon', and he may have promised her, but the truth was that she didn't suspect to see him until she could be free from her-their-parents' house, off in New York. There wasn't any potential way she could see to be with Blaine without them knowing, and with a bubbling anger, she greeted them tersely, informing them that she was fine, just had a headache.

She just wanted to be alone if she couldn't be with Blaine.

She spent her evening in her bedroom, running over any possibilities in her mind. After all, he had found a way to spend the weekend with her-how, she still had no idea-and there was the chance they could manage it together. She might have wanted more, craved more than just a day or two here and there, but she'd take what she could get. If there was the slightest chance she'd get even a glimpse of him, she'd take it.

By the time morning rolled around, Rachel found herself putting on Blaine's sweatshirt, unable to stop herself even though she knew Finn would demand answers, hound her until she told him what happened. The lies would come easily enough, they had in the past-he's just a friend, nothing happened, we caught up, of course I still love you-but her heart wouldn't be in it as much as it had been. She still loved Finn, and she knew she should focus on a future with _him _instead of her brother, but the truth was she could care less.

* * *

><p>"How was your weekend?" Kurt asked as he slid up to Rachel's locker, eyeing her sweatshirt with a frown.<p>

"Fun," she answered honestly, averting her eyes to focus on the textbooks in front of her. "How was your date with-"

"Finn said that the kid you were with on Friday was a friend," Kurt interrupted, and Rachel wanted to curse for the fact that _this _would be the time Kurt would choose to be observant, for _this _to be the time he wasn't completely self-involved.

"He was," she told him, picking up her calculus textbook as if it held the solution to get her out of this situation.

"You two seemed awfully close. Like maybe he was an ex."

"Oh," was all Rachel could muster, because discussing the technicalities of her and Blaine's relationship was just too much for her right now, on a day when purely moving out of her bed seemed to take a herculean amount of effort.

"Was he?" Kurt asked, and Rachel opened her mouth-though to say what, she wasn't sure, when a whistle from Santana caused both Kurt and Rachel to turn in the direction to where Santana was now sexually harassing someone.

"Well _hello_," she cooed, and Rachel was ready to turn back to her locker, ready to ignore Santana's newest conquest, but then her eyes were drawn towards a familiar face, eyes hidden underneath sunglasses as he smirked at the cheerleader.

"Hi," Blaine's voice carried, and Rachel tried to remember to breath, pinching the inside of her arm to make sure she wasn't still dreaming, wanting to verify that he was actually there in the middle of the hallways of McKinley.

"For a hobbit," Santana said, her voice traveling towards where Rachel stood watching the exchange, "you're kind of hot. I bet you're all kinds of crazy in bed," she continued, and Rachel felt a blush creeping on, felt Kurt's stare in her direction.

"Thanks?" Blaine asked, chuckling a little. "But I'm actually looking for someone."

"Well, me and my girl Britts," Santana continued, looming even closer to Blaine in a way Rachel strictly didn't feel comfortable with as Santana's arm darted out and pulled the blonde towards her, "are free to help you out _anytime_."

Blaine just kind of nodded, ignoring the two girls in front of him until his eyes landed on where Rachel stood, half behind her locker, a smile on her face only half the size of his own. "I don't think I need any help, but thanks," he said, pushing past them and heading Rachel's direction, Rachel vaguely aware of Kurt's quiet 'Jesus christ' behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she breathed when he made his way over, completely ignoring that Kurt was still next to her, that they were in the middle of a busy hallway, that Finn was due at any moment.

"It's kind of a long story," he smirked, and she knew the flush she had been trying to keep at bay definitely covered her body now, not used to him being so blatant in public.

"One I think you kind of need to explain," she pressed, and now she remembered Kurt's existence as Blaine turned to glance at him, his smile waning a little. "Kurt, do you think you could leave us alone?" she asked, her voice small.

"No," Kurt said, crossing his arms over his chest as he shifted weight from one foot to the other, as if he was ready to fight Blaine for rights to Rachel's free time before class.

"Kurt," she sighed, exasperated.

"I don't know what's going on here," Kurt said, his eyes steady on Blaine as he talked, "but I'm pretty sure it's nothing Finn-my brother, mind you-would enjoy hearing about."

"Brother, huh?" Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow, and Rachel was glad he didn't turn to look at her in that moment.

"Step-brother," Rachel explained. "He set their parents up as an attempt to get into Finn's-"

"I did no such thing!" Kurt cried out, slightly hysterically, and as she glanced over him with a dead stare that said _yes, yes you did,_ he huffed impatiently and stormed off, muttering about how it wasn't like he was trying to get into Finn's pants _now_.

"Most people would avoid trying to hook up with their brother," Blaine said, slightly amused as he watched the other boy storm down the hall, and Rachel had to fight off a smile of her own as she put her books back in her locker.

"Welcome to my life," Rachel tried to joke, chewing on her lip nervously as she closed her locker. "We should go somewhere and talk," she said quietly.

"I'm going to miss my first class," he chuckled. "Didn't really want to make a bad impression on the first day."

"Somehow, I think you'll survive."

They walked quietly through the halls, Rachel leading him towards the choir room, her safe place in the past few years, shutting the door quietly behind her. "What are you doing here?" she questioned again, and Blaine took a deep breath.

"I told you, it's a long story," he warned, but she shrugged, sitting down at the piano and pulling him down next to her. He sighed, but nodded. "Well, I don't know what you remember from that night-"

"Everything," she interrupted, her eyes held steady on his own. "I remember everything from that night." His gaze was just as unwavering as hers was, and she could see all the emotions in his eyes, the ones he wouldn't admit-the sadness, the sorrow, the pain.

"Well, I went to Mike's like I said I would."

"I know," she said quietly, turning her face away from him now and stroking the piano keys softly. "I asked him, the next time I was at school. He said that you were safe, but that I probably shouldn't come around-that it would make it worse for everyone."

"Oh," Blaine said quietly, and she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see him looking slightly uncomfortable, as if he didn't know how to continue. "Well, he was probably right. At the time-at the time, it probably would have made things worse."

"How long did you stay at Mike's?"

"Until about three weeks ago," Blaine answered, and now Rachel nearly fell off the bench.

"Three weeks ago?" she screeched, and Blaine let out a small laugh.

"Calm down Rachel," he said soothingly, his hand rubbing her back absentmindedly. "Yes, I've been at Mike's this whole time. That's how I knew where you disappeared to, despite the name change. Mike's parents-"

"Did they know?" she asked, suddenly shy even though she could barely remember the adults in question.

"They had a vague idea. They knew _something _blew up, heard about how I wasn't allowed to go home-I think Mike told them a more edited version, not the 'he got caught fucking his sister' version."

"That's probably for the best," she blushed.

"But until you left, I couldn't very well go back to school-which meant that when I _did _start back up, I was a grade behind. And when Mike wanted to move away, not sure what to do about his college situation, he mentioned Ohio. I think he remembered you were here." Blaine shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think he knew how much I've missed you over the past couple years, how I've been out of sync with myself with you gone."

She nodded in understanding, leaning her head against his shoulder automatically. "So now you're here?"

"So now I'm here. Finishing up my senior year. Or, at least, until our parents catch wind of it."

"As long as you stay under the radar, I don't see why they'd catch on," she told him, but even he could tell she was lying. It was a small town, the chances of them co-existing without them ever finding out was unlikely.

"Because staying under the radar is clearly something we're good at," Blaine finally smirked, and she let out a small laugh despite herself.

"How come you didn't tell me you were coming here?" she asked after a quiet moment, Blaine's hand still rubbing against her back. "Yesterday, when you were leaving?"

"I told you I'd see you soon," he pointed out, but she just rolled her eyes. "I didn't want to jinx it. If mom and dad had found out-I'm not sure what they'll do if they know we're even around each other again. I didn't want to get your hopes up if I wasn't going to be able to follow through." She smiled, gazing up at him now before bringing his lips down to her own, kissing him softly, gently, tenderly in a way they hadn't over the weekend. The weekend had been spent so caught up in getting reconnected with the other, with getting out all the passion they had kept bottled up for the past three years that the loving aspect of their relationship had been shoved aside, but now they had time.

"I'm glad you're back," she whispered, and he grinned in response before her phone interrupted their moment, vibrating loudly against the piano where she had placed it. She frowned, reaching up to see the message, only to feel like she was slapped in the face with the simple reminder that they shouldn't be doing this, because there was still Finn to worry about.

"Finn?" Blaine asked, seeming to read Rachel's mind, and she merely nodded, sending back a quick _didn't feel good, I'll be at lunch, don't worry_ to his worried question of where she was.

"Finn," she repeated quietly, gulping down what didn't feel like enough air. "What am I going to do about him?"

"Do you love him?" he questioned, his voice just as quiet as her own was. She thought for a moment, about how Finn had basically saved her from herself at a time when she didn't want anyone to be around her, much less love her and care for her. Finn had been most of the reason she was who she managed to become in the past couple years, managing to reach in and pull her out of the dark abyss she had been swimming in as her parents tore down everything she had ever known.

"Not in the same way I love you, I don't think I'll ever love anyone that much-"

"But you do love him," Blaine finished for her, and she nodded, sheepishly playing a key on the piano.

"He's been a great help in the past few years," she admitted quietly.

She could see Blaine nodding out of the corner of her eyes, the wheels turning in his head. "Well, then, I think you should stay with him."

"But-"

"You seem to forget that I _am _your brother. I'll be in your life forever. You should let things run their course with Finn and I-I'll do what I've been doing the past few years."

"Which is?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Coping," he shrugged. "At least this way I'll still get to see you, be a part of your life. We can be friends again."

She nodded, fighting off a wave of tears that threatened to leak. She wanted Blaine back, in any aspect she could have him, but the thought of not being able to touch him, claim him, make him hers again was almost worse than being apart from him.

"Friends," she repeated, the word sounding foreign to her own tongue.

"Friends."


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: **so, this took a lot longer than i had wanted it too. i was having some sort of tensing issue, which has hopefully been fixed for now. _unfortunately _i still won't be able to update again until after sunday, as i'm going to NYC with a bunch of friends to see **how to succeed**, BUT I PROMISE i have everything planned out and should update shortly after my return. thank you all for staying with me :)

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><p>The idea of being just friends was incredibly daunting, especially after running straight into Finn after Blaine disappeared into the hallway on his way to apologize to his teacher for not showing up.<p>

"Are you feeling better?" Finn asked, moving his arm to lay loosely around her shoulders, and she stared at him blankly before she remembered that she had told him she wasn't feeling well, guilt chewing at her stomach for the first time in nearly three days.

"Actually," she started, "I think we have to talk-there's kind of some big news I have to tell you," she said quietly, causing Finn's face to change from concern to a hardened worry, something that made her feel even guiltier.

"Is it about that Blake-"

"Blaine," she corrected automatically.

"-kid?"

"Yes," she admitted, starting to chew on her lip as Finn sighed heavily.

"Let's go," Finn said after a moment, and she tried to feel the connection she had felt so strongly to Finn only a few days ago as he placed a hand on her back and led her to a section of the school she was less familiar with, opening an empty classroom door and ushering her inside quickly. "Are you breaking up with me for him?" Finn started bluntly, and Rachel shook her head immediately, hoping to get that cleared up straightaway.

"Of course not," she said earnestly, clasping Finn's hand in her own. "I love you Finn, and an old-" she stumbled over the word 'friend' before finally managing for it to slip out, "Blaine isn't going to change that."

"You ignored me all weekend for him," Finn pointed out, and Rachel nodded, knowing the path of least resistance was just to agree with everything that she possibly could. "Did you cheat on me?"

"No," she lied, staring Finn straight in the eye as she did so. She wondered why it wasn't harder for her to do so, why she didn't feel the guilt take over about the blatant lie. If Finn lifted up her sweatshirt-_Blaine's _sweatshirt-he'd be sure to notice the hickeys on her shoulder, her side. He'd be sure to find the faint prints of Blaine's hands on her hips.

She wrapped her arms around herself before beginning to talk again, feeling self-conscious about the fact that her lie could be so easily discovered, but Blaine had told her to stay with Finn, and that's what she had to do. "No, I didn't cheat on you," she explained further, her voice holding steady. "Blaine and I simply caught up and enjoyed each other's company, because I thought he was leaving for good again yesterday-"

"He didn't?" Finn interrupted, a confused look crossing his face.

"No, he actually transferred here," she finished quietly.

"Transferred?" Finn yelled, slamming his hand down on the desk next to him, Rachel flinching in response. "He _transferred_ to be with you!"

"He didn't-we're just-"

"Kurt told me how close you two looked at Breadstix the other night. How you guys were holding hands, _gazing into each other's eyes_."

"We weren't-"

"You were!" Finn roared, and Rachel had to bite back the tears that threatened to fall, because they were, they had. All of Finn's worst fears were true, and it was all of Rachel's fault. "You can't honestly tell me that nothing has ever happened between the two of you Rach, even from what I saw you two were-" he stopped himself, staring off into the distance for a moment and Rachel took a step closer to him, confused as to why he went quiet. "He's the reason you were so messed up when you first got here," Finn accused, Rachel's eyes widening at the connection.

"I told you a long time ago that I don't like to talk about my past," Rachel responded quietly. "What's done is done, and I started my life over here. I don't want to think about what happened in my old life."

"Then why is he back here? He's just going to hurt you again Rachel, and I don't want to sit around and wait for that to happen!"

"He's not!" she yelled back, getting just as frustrated as Finn seemed to be. "Blaine and I are on good terms, and him being around won't affect you and me, so why are you getting so worked up about this?"

"Because he's in love with you and it's only a matter of time before he sweeps you away!" Rachel stood there in shock, it clearly written all over her face as Finn crossed his arms, nodding. "Exactly, you can't even deny it Rach. And when it all blows up, guess who's going to get fucked over?"

"Nothing is happening between Blaine and me," Rachel tried to reassure him, but Finn just scoffed, a quiet 'whatever' coming from his mouth as he refused to look at her. "What else do you want me to say?"

"You're wearing his sweatshirt," Finn stated, his tone harsh and cold.

"I-" she couldn't come up with an excuse, couldn't even take it off in front of Finn without worrying that he'd notice the marks that hadn't come from himself. "I'm sorry," was all she managed instead, Finn storming past her and out of the room, the tears she had thought were finally gone falling quickly from her eyes as she tried to curl in on herself.

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><p>She went to her next couple of classes, trying to avoid talking to anyone who came up to her, using a fake sore throat excuse to make up for her strange behavior. No one questioned her, and she was grateful to be left alone.<p>

When she arrived in the lunchroom that day, she didn't even bother scanning the room for Finn, figuring he was still upset with her and trying to give him space. She didn't expect for Blaine to sit down across from her as if he did this every day and start going into a rant about one of his classes.

For a few minutes it felt like it used to. The two of them talking and joking, Blaine's grin across the table causing her to blush. She felt comfortable, more at ease than she had in far too long. It was like she had spent the past three years drowning, and Blaine was her life preserver bringing her to clean air. She could breathe.

She was in the middle of telling him about New Directions when Finn sat down next to her, kissing her harshly while she was mid-sentence before turning to his food, Blaine's expression far too controlled to be genuinely pleased anymore. Still, Rachel talked to fill the silence between the two, and while Finn's fingers may have been laced between her own, it was Blaine who she was smiling at.

It went like that for a few weeks, Rachel constantly on edge around her parents, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She continued to date Finn, but spent more time around Blaine than she did anyone else. Being 'just friends' was the bane of her existence, fighting with herself to not lean in and kiss him more often than not. She knew he was doing the same, his hands occasionally reaching for her own, his hand on her back as they walked to class, once being so bold as to kiss her on the cheek as they parted for the afternoon.

Finn didn't like Blaine around, Rachel could tell, but he did his best to keep quiet after another screaming match between the two caused him to realize that in the end, it wouldn't be Finn Rachel would choose if it came down to it. When the marks from Blaine finally disappeared from her body and Rachel allowed Finn to roam around her once more, she couldn't help the mental comparison between them. Blaine had the potential to be rough with her, but it was laced with love and compassion, was rough in a way that Rachel wanted it to be. Finn was harsher, as if warning Blaine to stay away, and Rachel couldn't help but yearn for the other boys hands on her body instead.

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><p>"Sadie Hawkins?" Blaine asked, lips curled into a smirk as he appeared beside Rachel at the poster.<p>

"We do it every year," she explained, still frowning at the poster. She would have preferred going with Blaine, but they were still in the midst of their 'just friends' pact, the small space between them driving her mad. "It's usually pretty fun."

"Asking Finn?" Blaine questioned, his tone a forced cheerful sound.

"I would assume. I mean, we went together the past two years," Rachel said as she turned from the poster to look at Blaine. "Unless, of course, you can think of some reason for me _not _to."

His returning frown to her proposition only killed any hope she may have had for him to finally tell her it was time to drop the charade and whisk her away. "Rachel," he said, using the tone of voice she didn't like, the warning one that said she was hitting a nerve too close to acknowledge. "You know I-_we _can't. It's too risky, with mom and dad and everything-"

"Right," she interrupted, far used to his explanation by now. "Well, then I'm going with Finn."

"You haven't even _asked _me yet," Finn's voice announced as he joined their twosome, planting a small kiss on the top of Rachel's head as his arm wove around her shoulders, turning her to effectively block out Blaine.

"Would you like to go to Sadie Hawkins with me?" she asked Finn, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. Finn pretended to think for a moment before letting out a deep sigh, clearly faking it just as much as she was.

"I _suppose_ I could," he finally answered with a huff. "Don't' want to let a beautiful girl end up on her own."

Rachel was sure she heard Blaine mutter something about how she wouldn't end up alone, but when she turned around to question him he was gone, disappearing around a corner and leaving her alone with Finn.

She couldn't help the desire to run after him, and she was getting really tired of fighting it.

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><p>"Are you okay?" Finn questioned, his voice breaking the little world Rachel had spaced out into.<p>

"Fine," she lied-she had been doing so much lying lately, and she couldn't see if it was even worth it anymore. The two continued to spin around, the music loud over the speaker system in the gymnasium, giving Rachel a headache.

They had come together, as planned, but her heart wasn't in it. Blaine had managed to find a date-with Santana, of all people-and suddenly she was the one burning in a pool of jealous rage. She wanted to yank Santana's paws off of Blaine, tear them apart and bare her claws for the other girl to see, but 'this was for the best', this was what Blaine wanted for them.

She had begun, over the past few weeks, to wonder why he had bothered coming back into her life if he didn't want to act on the feelings they so clearly both had for one another. Most of the time she understood his reasoning, how if their parents were to find out they'd only be torn apart again. They'd been lucky so far, that no one had slipped around them about Blaine's existence, that he'd managed to avoid running into them in public. She wasn't sure how, but nearly a month and a half had gone since he came back to her and their mom and dad were none the wiser.

When she tried pointing this out to Blaine, he argued that it'd be a little more difficult to keep his appearances quiet if they were dating.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look sad," Finn said, his hands settled on her waist as they moved to the ballad pouring overhead, a song about lost love, first loves-things she was all feeling, but not for the boy who held her.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, parting from him enough to see Blaine storming out of the gym, Santana shrugging as Brittany swayed with her. "I just-I need some air," she said, and she ignored Finn's further questions as she headed in the general direction she had seen Blaine disappear towards, a nervous feeling completely taking over her being as she searched the school building for him.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n****: **wow, i am the actual worst. i wanted to update this as soon as i came back from new york, and my brain seemed to shut down on it? like i'd write a few words here and there but it wasn't working. i'm sure you don't really care, i just wanted to apologize that this took so fucking long. also, the rating went up, because smut. so. you've been forewarned.

i hope it was worth the wait?

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><p>She scoured the school, calling his name as she ran through the deserted corridors. He had somehow managed to make it all the way to the choir room before she caught up to him, pausing her entrance as she noticed him angrily pacing back and forth.<p>

"Blaine?" She asked, her voice quiet, and when he turned to face her she was startled by how unbelievably pissed he looked.

"Go away," he snapped, his voice cold and harsh, in a way it never was around her.

"Blaine, what's wrong?" She pressed, ignoring his plea.

"I said, go away! God Rachel, why can't you just listen to me?" He ranted, his pacing nearly wearing tracks on the floor.

"I do listen!" She fought back, stepping towards him. "I listen to you every time you say we can't be together! Every time you tell me it's better to be with Finn!"

"Go away!" He barked, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at her, his hands curled into fists.

"No!"

It was almost instantaneous, how quickly he backed her against a wall, eliciting a squeak from Rachel as her body hit the solid surface behind her. His mouth hovered over her own, mere inches away, his hands tangled tightly in her dress at her hips. She didn't think twice as she closed any remaining distance, melting into the feel of their kiss.

Nothing else mattered anymore, except Blaine's lips trailing along her jaw line, nipping at her neck as he pushed her dress up, over her thighs and grabbing her ass to lift her up. She responded quickly, letting out small sounds as her legs moved around him, her hips jutting into his. "Does he make you feel like this?" Blaine whispered harshly in her ear, teeth pulling at it a moment later as she reached into his pants, palming him as best she could in their current position.

"N-no," she panted in response, his own fingers pushing into her without warning, her body already ready for him.

"Doesn't make you feel as needy and desperate as this, does he?" Blaine continued, fucking her with his fingers, angling them just so in the way he knew would make her unravel against him.

"Blaine," she gasped, unable to do much more before he retreated, pushing his dress pants down as best he could with one hand, the other gripping her tightly to keep her held up properly.

It took a minute or two, but when he finally pushed into her, Rachel was filled with the overwhelming sensation that this was right, him and her together like this. "Does he drive you over the edge so quickly?" Blaine growled, thrusting into her hard, fast, her walls already clenching around him. "Can he make you come as hard as I do?"

"No," she whimpered, her body trembling as she gave in to the urge to come, "B-Blaine," she cried, his voice still muttering things about how beautiful she was, how hot she looked as she came, how tight she felt around him, and before she knew it he was coming as well, spilling inside her and triggering another orgasm with it.

It took him a minute before his grip loosened on her and she slumped against the wall, her dress falling to its appropriate length as he tried to make himself presentable. He wasn't looking at her, and she frowned, afraid of what was going through his brain.

"Blaine-"

"No, shit, Rachel-"

"Don't do this, please," she begged, her eyes widening as she grabbed a hold of his hands. "Don't say this was a mistake."

"Finn," was his only response, and it took all her restraint not to roll her eyes at him.

"I'm breaking up with him, Blaine."

"Don't-"

"This isn't under your control anymore. I don't want to be with Finn anymore, and you can't honestly tell me you want me to stay with him. What's done is done." She didn't give him a chance to argue with her, instead spinning on her heel and storming out of the room with her head held high.

* * *

><p>The rest of the dance went by far too slowly for Rachel's taste, Finn constantly asking her about her prolonged absence. She grew impatient with him, especially when she noticed Blaine's reappearance a few minutes after her own, his gaze steady on her as she tried to dance with Finn.<p>

By the time the evening was over, and Rachel was finally in her own bed wearing one of Blaine's hoodies she'd stolen from him, she was mentally exhausted. She'd barely kissed Finn goodnight, simply asking him to come over the next day. Her mind replayed the evening over and over, how possessive Blaine had become, how she never even got the chance to tell him that Finn wasn't even given the opportunity to do any of those things. That side of her was reserved for Blaine and Blaine alone.

She slept unwell that night, tossing and turning as she thought about what she had to do the next afternoon. She knew it was time, her reconciliation with Blaine only proved what she had known all along-even if nothing came to fruition yet, she was Blaine's and she couldn't pretend otherwise anymore.

Finn arrived, on time for once, a grim look on his face as she opened the door to let him in. "We need to talk," was all she said before Finn sighed in defeat, a hand rubbing his face as if he was weary of the conversation already.

"So, you're breaking up with me then," Finn asked, and she merely nodded in response. "Do I at least get an explanation why?"

"I think we both know you'd rather not get one," she said softly, and his face contorted in anger.

"So it's Blaine then?" He roared, and Rachel flinched slightly at his reaction. She hadn't expected him to take it well, but she hadn't expected him to scream either. "You told me you wouldn't leave me for him, and you lied!"

"It's more complicated than that Finn!" She yelled back, his words stinging with truth.

"Did you cheat on me?" He asked simply, and she hesitated before shaking her head 'no', but she could see he didn't believe her. "You did. Last night, at the very least. That's where you ran off too."

"Finn-"

"I can't fucking believe this," Finn spat, "I trusted you, even if I didn't like that stupid Blaine kid, and I told myself I was over reacting."

"Finn, just let me explain-"

"No explanation necessary," Finn shrugged, feigning laughter as he stomped towards the door-the door that was opening already, her parents stepping through the threshold at the same moment the words "Have fun with Blaine," came from Finn's mouth.

Her entire world stopped spinning.

"Did he just say 'Blaine'?" Her father asked, his voice hardened in a way she hadn't heard since he told her they were moving. She couldn't answer him, her mom closing the door with a disapproving look on her face as her dad loomed closer. "Answer me! Rachel Barbra, have you seen Blaine?"

"Why would you do this to us? To yourself?" Her mom asked when it became clear Rachel wouldn't answer, her bottom lip trembling as she fought off tears. "After everything we went through, I thought you'd moved on like we have?"

"How could you have moved on?" Rachel finally screamed, saying words she'd kept to herself for so long. "How could you have turned your backs on your son, whose only 'fault' was that he loved your daughter?"

"Because he raped you, Rachel, now stop acting like a child and tell us where he is!"

"He didn't rape me!" She yelled, glaring at her parents. "It was consensual. Every time we've been together, it was consensual. Because we love each other, and I'm sick of having to hide it!"

"You don't _love_him!" Her father yelled back. "You're too young to even understand what the word means!"

"You didn't say that when it was Finn I was in love with," she shot back, not afraid of holding her own against them for the moment, finally getting the chance to say her side of things that she had kept quiet-at Blaine's request-for so long.

"Blaine was brain washing you, sweetie, we talked about this," her mom tried with a gentler voice, but Rachel just laughed.

"No, you talked while I tried to stomach listening to you insult the one person whose never done any wrong by me," she snapped. "He didn't do anything, and you kicked him out, turned your back on him. You live this 'perfect' life now, where you don't have a son. Just your talented daughter, who can't fucking wait to get out of this messed up household!"

"Maybe you don't have to wait, then," her dad howled. "Maybe you should join him, if you're so in love that you think you can handle anything."

Rachel felt the sting of tears behind her eyes, her stomach freezing over as she listened to him. "Are you kicking me out too? Going to move again, start over, have new children that won't find love with each other?" She could hear her mother crying, her vision blurring from her own tears as her father started yelling again, and suddenly she felt like she was 15 again, waiting for Blaine to tell her how to fix things.

She moved swiftly past them, holding herself together enough to snap a quick, "Fine, I'll go, no need to hit me like you did Blaine," only making it as far as the top of the steps before her phone was in her hands and she was dialing the only number that held hope for her.

* * *

><p>She was in the middle of packing, the scene all too familiar for her tastes, when she heard more screaming erupting from the floor below them. She knew, immediately, that Blaine had come to her rescue, despite that it meant stepping into a landmine. She threw a few final things into her bags, hauling them down the stairs and practically jumping into Blaine's arms as he moved to help her at the bottom of the stairs.<p>

"I told you you were to never see her again!" their father was screaming, but Blaine wasn't listening to them-didn't even make any move to show that he had heard him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her instead, his hand cupping her face as she nodded, though tears were starting to fall again at her parents hysterical behavior.

"Can we please just go?" she asked, her voice soft as he nodded, reaching behind her to grab her bags, her father grabbing her arm before she realized what was happening, a quiet 'ouch!' coming from her mouth and alerting Blaine to the situation.

"What the hell are you doing?" Blaine yelled, looking like he was torn between grabbing Rachel himself and not wanting to hurt her anymore than necessary.

"You can't take her," their father seethed, his grip tightening on her forearm, tears now falling freely once more as she pleaded silently to Blaine to get her out of this.

"I don't think you have any say in that anymore," Blaine shot back, "she is 18."

"And she's still in high school and living with us."

"So? I was in high school, living with you and _16_ when you kicked me out. She said you did the same to her. She doesn't want to be around you, so let her go." Blaine's voice was steady but harsh, and Rachel would have admired how strong he was being in all this when it took all her effort just to continue standing, when she wanted nothing more than to crumble into pieces in the middle of all this.

"That was different," their father growled, but Blaine just scowled.

"Let her go," he said, his tone a warning, and Rachel wondered for a moment what would happen if their dad _didn't _release his grip.

"Fine!" he screamed, pushing Rachel towards Blaine who immediately caught her before she fell, his hand grabbing ahold of hers as their mother cried for them not to go, their father shutting her up with a glare. "Get out, I don't want to see either of you ever again!"

"Sounds good to me," Blaine muttered, grabbing Rachel's bags and helping her out the door, Rachel in too much hysterics to do anything but cling onto his hand as he led her out to the car he was sharing with Mike, curling up on herself as he drove them off.


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n: **this is clearly a lot shorter than my normal chapters, but i just wanted to write a quick epilogue to wrap this up. i think i'm done with blainchelcest for awhile, mostly because i'm working on some huge projects right now, but i do have more stuff in general coming. _also_, i've been uploading oneshots and drabbles to my tumblr a lot lately that haven't gotten posted here, so if you want to read them just go to either my tumblr (ashleykidwell) or the blainchel tumblr (blainchelraineanderberry)! kthx i love you all 3

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><p>She couldn't help the smile that fell across her face as she sat on the steps-her steps, she called them-waiting for Blaine. It had been nearly four years since their parents crossed them out of their lives, Blaine now applying for graduate school while Rachel prepared for graduation from NYADA and auditioning for various musicals in the area. It had taken a long time for Rachel to adjust to her new life, her new world where her parents didn't acknowledge her existence. They had moved out of the area soon after Rachel moved in with Mike and Blaine, only causing more tears to fall the day she went back to their house to discover them missing.<p>

When graduation came, Mike, Blaine, Kurt and her packed their bags for New York and never once looked back. Rachel had had to tell Kurt the truth about her and Blaine-after all, with the four of them living together and the rest all knowing, it only seemed fair. Kurt had, understandably, freaked out at her, called both of them all the names she was sure everyone else on the planet would think if their secret leaked out. But after a few long and uncomfortable months, he came around, their home becoming safe and comfortable once more.

Now Kurt was finishing his senior year at Parsons and interning for a designer Rachel had never heard of, Mike going with Rachel on auditions for dancing, both content to keep Rachel and Blaine's secret for them.

"Rachel!" she heard, her head snapping up to see him running across Times Square, darting though the tourists that littered the area as he bounded up the giant red steps before crashing into where she was situated at the top. "Rachel, I got in!"

"NYU?" she asked, her eyes widening-it was his first choice for graduate school, close enough to their apartment that he wouldn't have to worry about being late to classes because of backups on the subway. He nodded eagerly, and she leaned over to kiss him, her heart filling with pride. The fact that they could do this, even now, still made her feel incredibly happy. _Blaine _made her incredibly happy, from his cheesy dates to his ability to make her smile anytime she felt down. "I'm so proud," she whispered, his grin practically glued to his face.

"Now all we have to do is see if you can get into that show and both our futures are secure," he told her, reaching for her tea and taking a sip without asking.

"Yes, well, I should hear within a couple weeks," she responded, leaning her head on his shoulder and stowing her hand away in his pocket to keep her hand warm, the March air cold and windy. "If I get the part, will you come see me?"

"Every night," he promised, kissing the top of her head. She knew he'd keep his word, that he'd come every single performance, sitting in the front row. "You're going to be a star Rach, I know it."

"As long as I have you watching, I'm content," she said, his arm wrapping itself around her to pull her in even closer as they fell quiet, watching the world pass by in front of them.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered after a minute, and she just grinned into his shoulder before he took her face in his hands, staring deep into her eyes, intense and scary and good all at once. "Marry me."

"What?" Rachel choked out, sure she had misheard him, but as he reached into his opposite pocket and pulled out a box, her heart beat racing three times its normal rate, she knew he wasn't kidding.

"I love you, Rachel, and I lived without you for three years and that's something neither of us ever want again. So marry me."

She stared at him for a minute, trying to let her brain catch up with the scene playing out in front of her before practically screaming a loud "Yes!", her arms wrapping around him as she kissed him forcefully, his laughter ringing out as people around them stared.

It took her a couple minutes to calm down, but when she finally managed to, he slid the ring on her left finger-it was small, just a simple silver band and small diamond, but it was from Blaine and it meant _forever_, and Rachel didn't need anything else.


End file.
